It is 4:30AM on Steptoe Butte, overlooking the summer fields in the Palouse area of South Eastern Washington State. This area of rolling fields is believed to have been formed by the continuous deposition of soils caused by the breaking of massive ice dams and resulting floods in the last Ice Age.

Steptoe Butte offers the only view over the local countryside for quite a distance, and as one motors to the top, one will find 360° access in all directions. Here, during June, the vistas are of greens and brownfields, and the play of light varies with the textures and shapes of the fields.The hardest part is choosing where to set up to shoot.